News

12/10/2018Pipa perfectionLinda Holt, Broad Street Review
"The pipa, a four-stringed instrument from China, starred in the latest concert in the “Migrations” series of the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. Performed by Wu Man, widely regarded as the world’s leading pipa instrumentalist, the program proved how well Eastern and Western instruments can speak to each other and to a diverse audience of listeners... The pipa’s range of expressive power was demonstrated in a traditional solo, “White Snow in Spring.” But it was in the concluding work, Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Pipa with String Orchestra, that the pipa’s contemporary relevance emerged. The work was composed for Wu Man in 1997 and is quite the masterpiece in its own right."Read More

12/07/2018Best of classical music 2018: Amid the turbulence, moments to savorAnne Midgette, Washington Post
"The pipa player Wu Man has done a tremendous amount to raise the profile of her instrument (a Chinese folk instrument) and expand its repertoire. This year, she left a mark on Washington with two significant concerts. One featured a family troupe of musician-puppeteers from northern China, now in its 11th generation, a tradition unfamiliar to most of the audience. The other, “A Chinese Home,” was a multimedia and multigenre exploration of Chinese tradition with the Kronos Quartet."Read More

12/05/2018A Weekend with Wu ManPasadena Conservatory of Music Blog
For those unfamiliar, Wu Man is the world’s premier pipa virtuoso and leading ambassador of Chinese music. She is also a founding member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, now in its 20th season, and a featured artist in the documentary The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and The Silk Road Ensemble, as well as on the film’s 2017 Grammy Award-winning companion recording.
The residency unfolded in two parts. Saturday featured an open rehearsal during the day, and a concert in Barrett Hall in the evening with our friends from the Salastina Music Society. The concert included performances of traditional Chinese folk repertoire for the pipa, a movement from Four Chinese Paintings (a work composed by Wu Man for string quartet), and a lively improvisation for pipa and string quartet.Read More

12/04/2018LIVE from the WRTI 90.1 Performance Studio: Pipa Player Wu Man, Dec. 5 at 3 PMSusan Lewis, WRTI
What kind of instrument is the Pipa and how is it changing the sound of classical music? Find out when world-renowned Pipa player Wu Man visits WRTI on Wednesday at 3 PM to perform LIVE and chat with WRTI's Susan Lewis. Listen on the radio at 90.1 in Philadelphia and online at WRTI.org. Watch the performance LIVE on the WRTI Facebook page.Listen and Watch

11/28/2018China Music TV channel

Your browser does not support HTML5 video.

11/25/2018'Migrations' plays the melodies of the world with the Philly Chamber OrchestraWPVI-TV PHILADELPHIA
"The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia is highlighting sounds from around the world in its 54th season dubbed "Migrations".... The Asia concert will feature the leading ambassador of Chinese music. "Wu Man is a very famous Chinese pipa player," Hartman explains. "And the pipa is like a Chinese lute and it's a gorgeous wonderful traditional Chinese instrument."Read More

11/12/2018Wu Man's Pipa Spotlighted with Taipei Chinese OrchestraClive Paget, Musical America
"Wu is a fascinating musician to watch, the perfect blend of relaxed communion and artistic tension. A consummate virtuoso, her right hand is scarcely ever still as it plucks busily at the strings towards the base of the instrument, while her agile fingers fly over the fret board, pausing at times to create that pronounced vibrato that is a typical ingredient of the pipa sound. At other times, she possesses a rare quality that reaches out to an audience and draws it into her otherwise private imaginative sound world."Read More

11/07/2018The ‘Thousand Thoughts’ of Kronos Quartet comes to HoustonAndrew Dansby, Houston Chronicle
[Documentary filmmaker Sam Green plans to] dig through the [Kronos Quartet's] deep archive for visual content, and interview some prominent composers in the Kronos sphere (Steve Reich, Glass, Wu Man) and create a film in which narration and the score would be presented live.Read More

11/07/2018Pipa Virtuoso Wu Man Performs With Taipei Chinese Orchestra at Carnegie HallAsian in NY (blog)
"Chinese Grammy-winning Pipa virtuoso Wu Man took the stage [and] performed with the Taipei Chinese Orchestra on Tuesday, November 6 at Carnegie Hall to give the U.S. premieres of two concertos scored for traditional Chinese instruments."Read More

9/04/2018Modern twist to traditional folk artOlivia Ho, The Straits Times
""Their music is so real, so honest," says Wu, 53, over the telephone from where she lives in San Diego. "It's not like where I come from - I was trained in a conservatory to play on a stage. They play outdoors, in the fields, at weddings and at parties - they play anywhere. It is their life." ...There are challenges in bringing the band, whose members are in their 60s and 70s, on tour. Given their thick northern accent, Wu had trouble communicating with them at first. It was also difficult to find them the noodles they craved in the depths of Idaho or Utah. But the connection through music was instant. Their leader plays the yueqin, which to Wu sounded a lot like her pipa. "It was just like going back to the roots of my instrument, colour-wise.""
Read more

9/02/2018Preview: Esplanade’s Moonfest 2018BAKCHORMEEBOY
"Another highlight to look forward to would be Pipa Virtuoso Wu Man & Huayin Shadow Puppet Band Concert as they take over the Esplanade Concert Hall for a one night only performance. The concert will feature a repertoire of instrumental folk music and stories from classic Chinese novels including Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Creation of Gods, and more, performed by pipa virtuoso Wu Man (who played as principal in Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble) and The Huayin Shadow Puppet Band who brings these golds and heroes to life with rugged shadow puppetry with over 2,000 years of history."
Read more

8/30/2018Chamber Music Northwest: risk-taking redeemedBrett Campbell, OREGON ARTSWATCH
"The world’s best-known pipa virtuosa, Wu Man, had earlier shredded on her lute, electrifying the audience with a traditional work that imitated the rhythms of a galloping horse. ... she was Jimmy Page this afternoon..."
Read more

8/17/2018Works by Lei Liang and Pierre Jalbert make triumphant premieres at SummerFestChristian Hertzog, San Diego Union-Tribune
"On the stage at Conrad Prebys Concert Hall, Wu Man and Schick were separated by 7 or 8 feet, a bit puzzling for a work whose title means “Face-to-face.” Wu Man began alone with an arresting, tart chord that slowly accelerated into a dramatic cut-off. Schick answered this with a loud cascade of notes. The musical back-and-forth that ensued made clear that the title referred more to a metaphorical conversation than physical proximity."
Read more

8/15/2018A Sumptuous Banquet of Lin’s Favorites at La Jolla SummerFestKen Herman, Sandiegostory
"[Lei Liang's] uproariously virtuoso new work, commissioned by the La Jolla Music Society for SummerFest—“Vis-à-vis” for Pipa and Percussion, atones for all of his previous understatement with a Lisztian explosion of technical and spiritual ebullience that leaves nothing to the imagination. And who could better exploit such a score—a fourteen-minute giant cadenza for two—than UC San Diego’s percussion guru Steven Schick and pipa virtuosa Wu Man..."
Read more

8/08/2018For his final SummerFest, Cho-Liang Lin compiles an adventurous ‘Playlist’ of his favorite worksBeth Wood, San Diego Union-Tribune
"It’s very much like friends gathering and making music together," said Wu Man, also speaking from the Portland festival, where she and Lin both performed. "I highly respect Maestro Jimmy. He’s not only a wonderful musician, but a sweet person. In Portland, I told him: I met you in the early 1980s when I was a little student."
Read more

8/06/2018Silkroad Ensemble brings musical spin to lecture on listening across differencesMaggie Prosser, Chautauquan Daily
"Wu Man, a pipa virtuoso and original Silkroad member, plays her traditional Chinese instrument around the world in contemporary and classical settings while bringing age and experience to the ensemble..."
Read more

8/01/2018Good teamwork through musicChen Nan, World Music Central
"Students and teachers performed together at a series of concerts, including the NYO-China concert at the Central Conservatory of Music on July 28, and the NYO-US concert at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing...The US students played Chinese folk song Jasmine Flower and a piece for the string quartet composed by Chinese pipa player Wu Man."
Read more

7/31/2018A REMARKABLE MEETING OF MEXICAN AND CHINESE PLUCKED STRINGSAngel Romero, World Music Central
"Wu Man & Son de San Diego provide beautiful interactions between the pipa and the traditional Mexican guitars...Fingertip Carnival is an extraordinary meeting of cultures that brings together the beautiful traditions of southeastern Mexico and China."
Read more

7/30/2018Silver River Finally Makes Its Debut At Northwest FestivalJames Bash, Classical Voice North America
"Wu Man, wearing the colorful robes of the gods, delivered a kaleidoscope of twangy passages from her pipa...One of the most intriguing moments of the piece came when the Cowherd closely observed Wu Man’s playing, and the Goddess-Weaver looked over the shoulder of flutist Wilson while he played. Neither seemed to make sense of the other culture’s music. That was in keeping with the storyline, but with the added layer of East meets West, the outcome took on more weight."
Read more

7/23/2018Looking for new charm in traditional artChen Yu Xin, ZAOBAO
"When Wu Man ... said that she was born in a music school, she felt deeply trapped in the academic world; foreign audiences often only had access to academic and urban voices. Therefore, she invited folk music scholars to walk into the countryside. After being exposed to the old Huayin of Shaanxi, she was deeply attracted and invited local farmers to go to New York to perform in Carnegie. Wu Man said: "I am a native of Hangzhou and I am not familiar with the rural areas in the north. I have never heard such music in China. Huayin’s old-fashioned attraction is their simplicity and sincerity to music. It is not artificial. We used to seeing the performances on the stage, many of them are very artificial and unnatural; but they are like singing in their own yards. I want to show this Chinese cultural performance to other people. We are not only academic, but also Gypsies. The original unrestrained style."
Read more

7/18/2018MusicWatch Weekly: indoor opera, outdoor jazzBrett Campbell, Oregon Artswatch
"Even Chamber Music Northwest is getting in on the operatic action with Bright Sheng’s one-act opera, The Silver River, originally commissioned two decades ago by CMNW and performed at Portland State Saturday and Sunday with dancers, actors, and singers, and the Monday performance of Tan Dun’s well-known Ghost Opera (which isn’t really opera as we know it.) Both feature the world’s most renowned pipa (Chinese lute) virtuosa, Wu Man, with chamber ensemble."
Read more

7/7/2018Chinese classical music gets its own mini-festival in PortlandBrett Campbell, The Oregonian
"On Monday, July 23, at Reed College's Kaul Auditorium, the world's most famous pipa virtuosa, Wu Man, performs with the Miro Quartet in the premiere of Xiaogang Ye's "Gardenia," another Chamber Music Northwest commission. After a reprise of "Frenetic Memories," she joins a Chamber Music Northwest string quartet in Chinese American composer Tan Dun's "Ghost Opera.""
Read more

6/24/2018[Translated] "The art of cooperation at the Morgenland Festival"Ralf Döring, Osnabrücker Zeitung
"This is due to the intuition of the leader Michael Dreyer, who brings together the right musicians and liberates energies that the musicians seem to be surprised by themselves. This applies to the Wu Man on the Chinese lute Pipa and Wu Wei on the Chinese oral organ Sheng; both stars of the so-called world music scene."
Read more

6/21/2018Jubilee, Royal Albert Hall, London — from Mali to ChinaDavid Honigmann, Financial Times
"The virtuoso Wu Man pepped things up with a dancing tune on the pipa, the Chinese lute that she has almost single-handedly revived...Kronos Quartet played Islam Chispy’s “Zaghlala” [then] they were joined by Wu Man for one of her Four Chinese Paintings, aerial footage of the Gobi Desert unspooling behind them."
Read more

6/21/2018Aga Khan Master Musicians, Royal Albert Hall, London, review: A dazzling celebration of music from Islamic countriesMichael Church, The Independent
"And since the beginning of the AKMI’s work was in Asia, we also got the stars who have emerged there from under its umbrella [like] the pipa-virtuoso Wu Man from China ... Much of their work involves teaching – passing on their art to new generations – but here they were simply allowed to dazzle. And dazzle they did. The classical instrumental solos were as superb as one expected – from Sakhi, Man, and Juraev to Abbos Kosimov on the doira drum, and Feras Charestan on qanun. Most interesting was how these musicians kept coming together in different combinations, and how their compositions jelled while retaining a sense of spontaneity."
Read more

6/20/2018JUBILEE REVIEW – CELEBRATING THE AGA KHANGarth Cartwright, Songlines
"When China’s Wu Man joined the stage to play pipa the music took on an added tension and sparkle, her exquisite playing adding lovely shimmers of sound. Kronos Quartet then took over the stage. They played a number then were joined by Wu Man to play her composition ‘Four Chinese Paintings: Gobi Desert at Sunset’."
Read more

6/16/2018Morgenland Festival opened in the Osnabrücker MarienkircheTom Bullman, OSNABRÜCKER ZEITUNG
[Translated] - "Wu Wei and Wu Man master their exotic instruments, which are very rare to hear in this combination. While the US-based Wu Man unleashed ancient ways from their pipa, the Chinese long-necked lute, the Sheng, the Chinese mouth organ played by Wu Wei, proved to be a perfect accompaniment as well as a solo instrument for meditative and more modern pieces."Read more

6/15/2018Curious by Nature: Musician Wu ManTom Bullman, OSNABRÜCKER ZEITUNG
[Translated] - "At the opening concert, only the front row is able to see: the celluloid fingernails fastened with special adhesive tape, with which musician Wu Man plucks the strings of the pipa, the Chinese shell neck lute. 'Real fingernails break in no time, when you hit with them the steel strings of Pipa,' says the musician. Together with her compatriot Wu Wei, she will perform in the Marienkirche to present traditional Chinese music to the audience...'The dialogue between [the pipa and the sheng] in a duet is extremely rare and will also be full of surprises for both of us,' says Wu Man."Read more

6/14/2018Morgenlandfestival starts in OsnabrückPhilipp Jedicke, DW
[Translated] - "The opening night will be hosted by two Chinese superstars: the mouth organ player Wu Wei and the pipa virtuoso [Wu Man]... Together [they have] developed a program specifically for the Morgenland Festival."Read more

6/13/2018Opening Concert of the Morgenland Festival in OsnabrückThomas Wübker, OSNABRÜCKER ZEITUNG
[Translated] - "Wu Man and Wu Mei will open this year's Morgenland Festival on Friday together with the Kazakh ensemble Khazar. The visitors of the concert in the Marienkirche in Osnabrück can look forward to an exciting musical evening. Wu Man plays the Chinese short-necked lute Pipa. In 2013 she was the first non-classical musician to win the title 'MusicalAmerica-Instrumentalist of the Year'."Read more

June/2018My Instrument: Wu Man and her pipaCharlie Cawood, Songlines
"Charlie Cawood speaks to the virtuoso pipa player about her instrument and how she helped to bring Chinese music to the West"Read more

5/31/2018[New Release] Fingertip Carnival
Wu Man & Son de San Diego
指尖嘉年華．吳蠻、聖地牙哥頌樂團Released: May 30, 2018, WIND MUSIC International Corporation
Wu Man and San Diego-based son jarocho group Son de San Diego just released a new album, "Fingertip Carnival". Like their performance at the 2014 Carlsbad Music Festival, the record explores the connections between Chinese and Mexican folk music and each culture's use of stringed instruments.
現代琵琶演奏權威、國際媒體盛讚的典範藝術家—吳蠻
聯手美國聖地牙哥頌樂團 綻放熱情樂天的墨西哥音樂火花 Listen and Read More

5/05/2018Pipa Virtuoso Wu Man Brings Ancient Chinese Music To The PresentScott Simon, NPR: Weekend Edition
"Wu Man is recognized as the world's greatest virtuoso on an instrument that is over 2000 years old: the Chinese pipa. Throughout her career, she's brought the pear-shaped, 24-fret instrument into the 21st century by collaborating with world class orchestras like the New York Philharmonic and groups like the Kronos Quartet and Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble."Listen and Read more

4/09/2018Yo-Yo Ma, Silkroad Ensemble excite sold-out crowd at HopBetty Kim and Evan Morgan, The Dartmouth
"Opening with a fiery solo from pipa player Wu Man, the piece turned into a rollicking caper which used every instrument in Silkroad’s arsenal, from the thumping tabla to the breathy shakuhachi."Read More

4/05/2018Pipa virtuoso brings Chinese music and shadow puppet show to BostonRuobing Su, Sampan
"Her performances with the shadow puppet band were vibrant and lively, compared to her calmer pipa solos ... [the band] played energetic and lively music on their instruments, along with singing powerful songs."Read More

4/04/2018Episode 088 - Wu ManAbove the Basement - Boston Music and Conversation
"Full podcast recording, discussing tour with the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall and had a wonderful talk about Silkroad, the challenges of composing for different instruments and her association with Boston."Read More

4/03/2018Mixture of music along ancient silk road enchants SZYang Mei, Shenzhen Daily
"The performance received applause from the audience. “While I was watching the performance, it was like having a variety of delicacies from different cities along the Belt and Road,” said an audience member. Wu said, “Different musical instruments have different personalities.” If the first half conveyed an image of a pretty lady dancing to gentle, lyrical tunes, the second half was a rock and roll band gleefully shouting and banging their way on primitive instruments."Read More

3/26/2018Wu Man and Huayin Shadow Puppet Band at CMANicholas Stevens, Cleveland Classical
"The program alternated Wu’s polished pipa solos and the Shadow Puppet Band’s exuberant songs. Wu opened with Flute and drum music at sunset, a composition in the lyrical style, and the martial Ambush from Ten Sides.... While the first piece consisted of beautiful tracings on a backdrop of silence, the second was a virtuoso showpiece featuring constant activity, including the bending of entire chords downward in pitch... Wu provided two sublime, sophisticated moments of respite from the sheer energy of the Band."Read More

3/26/2018Rambunctious Pipa, PuppetryDavid Patterson, The Boston Musical Intelliger
"Wu Man and the Huayin Band displayed fascinating contrasts... The Band oozed openness, waving to the audience. They were fired up much of the time as witnessed by ensemble shout-outs and shout-singing... By contrast, Wu Man’s highly refined pipa was in evidence everywhere in her solos... there was myriad distinction in tonal display, reflective bends, caressed vibrato, and the like, characteristic of 'lyrical' style."Read More3/23/2018Scene-Stealing Tenor: The Week’s Best Classical Music Moments on YouTubeJames R. Oestreich, The New York TimesBench Percussion
One of the more exotic concerts of the last week paired the elegant Chinese pipa player Wu Man with the rustic Huayin Shadow Puppet Band, made up of moonlighting farmers. In this clip from an earlier New York appearance by the band, you can’t miss the virtuoso bench-percussionist (there was apparently some problem getting his instrument past customs), but another star in the live performance was the trumpeter, repeatedly producing something between the whinny of a horse and the cry of an elephant.
Read More

3/23/2018Glorious Pipa, a Village Band, and PuppetsHarvey Steiman, Seen and Heard International
"But the highlight might have been ‘Dance of Yi’, which she introduced as ‘the first modern composition for the pipa’. Noting that pipa music was traditionally written only as a skeleton sketch to improvise with traditional flourishes, it ushered in a era of notated writing for the instrument. It’s a beautiful piece, apparently simple and sweet, but the ear could hear extra nuances. What she and the band share is unbridled joy."
Read More

3/21/2018Pipa Virtuoso Wu Man Returns To ClevelandWCLV
"Internationally renowned pipa virtuoso Wu Man returns to Cleveland for a performance at the Cleveland Museum of Art, but this time she's not alone. Joining her on stage will be the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band for an evening of old-tune traditional music with shadow puppetry.
Wu Man spoke with Angela Mitchell and performed "Flute and Drum Music at the Sunset.""
Read More

3/20/2018In praise of musical tourism: Huayin Shadow Puppet Band and Cloud Gate Dance TheatreMark Swed, Los Angeles Times
"[Wu Man's] playing is the last word in elegance, and the contest between her solos and the folk musicians (whom she discovered and has brought on a U.S tour) was part of the fun. Yet she joined right in with what she called, with a huge smile on her face, her band. She broke up laughing. We all did."
Read More

3/19/2018A Gift from ChinaMeche Kroop, VOCE DI MECHE
"Ms. Man's right hand moved so rapidly that we were reminded of nothing more than the wings of a hummingbird. At times we thought of the player of flamenco guitar creating rasgueados... The musicians evinced a wild gusto that communicated with the audience... At the end we heard a piece in which the melody was passed around from one instrument to another which we found quite lovely. What a fascinating discovery!"
Read More

3/19/2018Chinese farmers wow New Yorkers with "earliest rock music"XINHUA NET
"From the moment the band took the stage with vigorous and boastful cry of Zhang Ximin, a senior artist of Lao Qiang Opera, these Chinese folk musicians were never less than 100 percent committed to raising the roof.
'It's really an exciting thing!" Robert Martin, director of the Bard College Conservatory of Music, New York, told Xinhua after the show. "The passion, the energy of their music is amazing.'"
Read More

3/18/2018Three centuries old, a band finally plays D.C.Anne Midgette, The Washington Post
"But whatever I may have had in mind when I sat down in Lisner Auditorium, I was not remotely prepared... the blast of sheer energy, delight and noise emanating from eight predominantly elderly men who took the stage like a benevolent cyclone... The bottom line is that energy and joy and commitment go a long way toward interesting people in things they don’t know, regardless of what you’re offering. It was a marvelous night and I wish more people had gotten to see it."
Read More

3/16/2018CONCERT REVIEW: East Meets East, City Meets CountryJosef Woodard, Santa Barbara News-Press
"Two solo pipa pieces opened the program — the yearning, lyrical "Flute and Drum Music at Sunset" and the more aggressive "martial" attack and tonally restless nature of her famous piece "Ambush from Ten Sides." She swiftly won us over with the subtle grace and fluid mastery of her 2,000 - year-old instrument of choice... From the first blast of its musical message and lead vocalist Zhang Ximin's unabashed extroversion, the band (with Ms. Wu inducted into the ranks) unleashed a big, hearty, celebratory and rough-around-the-edges sound, a musical force both immediately infectious and exotic."
Read More

3/15/2018WORLD MUSIC INSTITUTE PRESENTS: WU MANby TIDAL Editors, TIDAL
"Highly renowned Wu Man is widely regarded as the world’s premier pipa virtuoso. She brings her lute-like and ancient instrument to life not only through traditional Chinese music forms, but also through various cross-cultural collaborations – including with Kronos Quartet and as a member of Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble.... On March 17, Wu Man and the amazing Huayin Shadow Puppet Band plays New York Society for Ethical Culture, presented by World Music Institute (WMI)."
Read More

3/14/2018Wu Man and the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band Delivered One Surprising Moment After AnotherCharles Donelan, Santa Barbara Independent
"If you measure the heat of a band by the freshness of its sound, then the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band is hotter than the latest indie-rock sensation, even though its music is centuries old... This was a truly memorable night; the pairing of Wu Man and the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band represents a distinctive achievement in the spread of traditional Chinese culture to the West."
Read More

3/07/2018Wu Man and The Huayin Shadow Puppet BandAli Rank, Santa Barbara Seasons
"Wu Man performs with the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band, a group which is known for traditional music accompanied by shadow puppetry. The primary instruments the band uses include yueqin, banhu, erhu and percussion, including clappers, small gongs and cymbals around large gong."
Read More

3/07/2018Wu Man brings a Chinese village ensemble to the BayJanos Gereben, SF Examiner
"Wu Man, the best known virtuoso player of the pipa, a lute-like four-stringed Chinese instrument, is also an acclaimed ethnomusicologist. Both pursuits have led her to “Wu Man and the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band,” a show in the making for years coming to UC Berkeley’s Hertz Hall in a Cal Performances presentation this weekend."
Read More

3/03/2018Wu Man Searches in the Shadows for Chinese RootsLily O'Brien, San Francisco Classical Voice
"One item on the roster for the upcoming season of Cal Performances in Berkeley immediately piqued my interest: Wu Man and the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band. Having traveled extensively in Southeast Asia and parts of Indonesia I am no stranger to shadow puppets. But a shadow puppet band? This was new to me."
Read More

2/26/2018It Takes Wu Man to Bring a Village to BerkeleyJanos Gereben, San Francisco Classical Voice
"How did it all come together? A decade ago, Wu Man was asked to curate a series for Carnegie Hall’s China Festival, so she traveled and explored the cultural traditions of some of China’s remote regions. That’s how she discovered a shadow-puppet band in a small village called Huaying. Wu Man says, “I was so fascinated and deeply affected by their performance that I had to bring them to Carnegie Hall."
Read More

2/26/2018Introducing Ancient Chinese Culture To A Wider AudienceMay S. Ruiz, Arcadia Weekly
"For many of us who aren’t familiar with the pipa and the shadow puppet, this show will give us a glimpse of and an appreciation of these musical and performance art forms. Wu Man is eager to share her vast knowledge and experience about them."
Read More

2/22/2018Washington Performing Arts presents the D.C. premiere of a new program from Wu Man and The Huayin Shadow Puppet BandLily Chen, Asian Fortune News
"One of the world’s foremost masters of the pipa (a Chinese lute), Wu Man takes the stage with China’s Huayin Shadow Puppet Band for a brand-new touring program at GW Lisner Auditorium on Friday, March 16, 2018 at 8:00pm, presented by Washington Performing Arts. Wu Man is well-known to U.S. audiences for her collaborations with Kronos Quartet and the Silk Road Ensemble. In this joyous multimedia program, she joins China’s Huayin Shadow Puppet Band—superstars in their home country—for an evening of traditional music and shadow puppetry."
Read More

2/18/20184 Pipa Players You Need To KnowVivien Ralph, BuzzFeed
Like the other players mentioned, Wu Man was trained in Pudong-style pipa performance and she studied at the Central Conservatory of Music. 'Probably the most famous and internationally recognized pipa player nowadays. She was also trained in Pudong-style pipa performance and once a student of Lin Shicheng and Liu Dehai. She is known for playing in a broad range of musical styles and introducing the pipa into Western genres. She has collaborated extensively with Kronos Quartet and Silk Road Ensemble.'Read More

2/16/2018The Shanghai Quartet: Crossing Borders For 35 YearsCara Lieurance, WMUK
"Weigang Li, the founding first violinist of the Shanghai Quartet, previews their concert with famous pipa virtuoso Wu Man, in an interview with Cara Lieurance.”Listen to the Interview

2/16/2018Celebrate the Lunar New Year With Wu Man on the PipaWQXR
"Happy Lunar New Year! In honor of the Chinese holiday, we’re revisiting the time that pipa player Wu Man joined us in the studio to perform her unique interpretations of traditional Chinese music. Above, she improvises a folk song commemorating the new year. ”Watch and Read More

2/14/2018Interview with David HarringtonSaeed Saeed, The National
"We are very thoroughly involved with every composer we work with. Yesterday, for example, we were working with Sirojiddin and Wu Man. We’ve never worked with Sirojiddin before, and it was a fantastic experience. We’re forming the music together. I’m going to a rehearsal in a few minutes and we’ll get new arrangements. We’ll refine them today, and tomorrow we will do it again and find even more new arrangements. That’s how we do things with Kronos Quartet. It’s a slowly-but-surely process.”Read More

1/25/2018A Thousand Thoughts Is Part Concert, Part Movie, and Everything Sundance Hopes to BeSam Adams, Slate Magazine
"...from their [Kronos Quartet[ founding in 1973 through their collaborations with era-defining composers like Philip Glass and Terry Riley to more recent work with the Inuk throat-singer Tanya Tagaq and the Chinese pipa virtuoso Wu Man, they played along, performing nearly two dozen compositions ranging from George Crumb’s “Black Angels” to the score from Requiem for a Dream.”Read More

1/03/2018AN INTERVIEW WITH DAVID HARRINGTON OF KRONOS QUARTETPhil Vanderyken, Folk Radio UK
"I was watching the video for (Chinese composer Wu Man’s) piece “Four Chinese Paintings” where the composer explains the difference between the written part and the way she intends the piece to be played based on the pipa ( a traditional Chinese stringed instrument). It demonstrates the difficulties of notating some of these pieces. “Well, recently we played “Four Chinese Paintings” as a quintet with Wu Man on the pipa. It was so much fun! We’re going to get a notated version of the pipa part so that other pipa players can join other quartets. Also, I’m very excited about this, you’ll be the first to hear about it-I think it would be fabulous as a guitar, oud, as a banjo quintet! We’re going to try to create a plucked instrument version of this piece. ”Read More

12/28/2017SF Symphony earns its hallelujahsPhillip Campbell, The Bay Area Reporter
"China National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra, with Liu Ja conducting, appeared in November as part of a six-city US tour. Virtuoso Wu Man was soloist in gay American composer Lou Harrison's Concerto for Pipa. When the fabulous instrumentalist announced her encore in both English and Chinese, the audience roared in unanimous approval.”Read More

12/11/2017My Most Cherished Experiences with the Kronos QuartetDavid Harrington, The Violin Channel Web Blog
"One night, I was invited to a fabulous dinner at Zhou Long and Chen Yi’s home. After dinner, we began watching music videos. At a certain point, I saw and heard Wu Man playing pipa for the first time. The vividness of her sound, the mastery and ease of her playing suggested Kronos could learn a great deal from her, and, by performing together, there could be a new sound in our music. Wu Man has been a favorite collaborator of ours ever since. Her immense knowledge of Chinese culture inspires us.”Read More

12/07/2017Wu Man introduces the pipa to a mass audienceJohn Roos, Carlsbad Patch
"Wu Man has been on a mission for more than 30 years now. Her quest, however, is a little bit tricky. The composer and pipa player strives to contemporize the ancient Chinese instrument to reach a wider audience while simultaneously staying true to its traditional roots. Sound like she's walking a tightrope? Not in her capable hands.”Read More

11/07/2017China NCPA Orchestra Shows Promise and Limitations in American TourJoe Cadagin, San Francisco Classical Voice
"Wu skillfully imitated a mandolin in the “Neapolitan” portion ... Harrison had studied pipa technique enough to come up with some lovely, idiomatic passages for Wu ... It was also nice to hear Wu play unobstructed by the massive string section of the China NCPA Orchestra.”Read More

11/06/2017Feature: Chinese musicians play way to build bridge for East, West cultural exchangeYe Zaiqi, Wu Xiaoling, XINHUANET
"I hold high respect for him (Harrison) because he accepted the challenge of writing a musical instrument that was not familiar to him in his 70s," Wu told Xinhua in a pre-concert interview Sunday. "His music of the Pipa concerto is simple in rhythm but beautiful and melodic in nature," she added, explaining that Harrison's work was the simplest way to introduce traditional Chinese music, such as Pipa, a typical Chinese musical instrument, to Western audience. ... The NCPA's Sunday concert, which created a perfect combination of Eastern and Western music throughout its two-hour performance, was a fascinating audio feast for local residents here in San Francisco.”Read More

11/05/2017Pipa player Wu Man looks WestJian Ping, China Daily USA
"We have so much in our culture to share with others," Wu added. "This is quite a significant step for me." The audience responded with the same enthusiasm at the concert. Wu returned to the stage with an encore of White Snow in Spring, a traditional piece that sounded familiar to many in the audience.”Read More

11/03/2017The State of the Arts | "A Concerto Finished by a Virtuoso"Jeffrey Freymann, Classical KDFC (radio interview)
“I remember Lou sending me the score, the pipa parts, basically all the notes. There’s nothing else about the pipa notation. Where is the tremolo, where is the bending the notes? Lou just said, “OK, that’s all yours. Please make it sound like a pipa. It’s all in your hands. Make it sound like pipa music. All the details, a lot of ornamentation, I have to recreate it. So that’s also exciting to me, that part, to join the creative side not only just to play the music, but play and composing at the same time.” - Wu ManListen to the Interview

11/01/2017Famed Chinese orchestra makes rare Bay Area appearanceGeorgia Rowe, The Mercury News
"The one-night-only concert at Davies Symphony Hall follows tour stops in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Chapel Hill, North Carolina; the program features Chinese composer Chen Qigang’s “Luan Tan,” and Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Pipa and String Orchestra, featuring pipa virtuoso Wu Man, who commissioned the concerto and will play it in honor of the late Harrison’s centennial year.”Watch and Read More

10/31/2017VIDEO | Pipa 101 with Wu ManStephen Raskauskas and Michael San Gabino, WFMT
"You may have heard the pipa before, even if you don’t know the instrument by name. Pipa player Wu Man said, “I think 98% of the audiences in my concerts have never heard the pipa. Surprisingly, people will come up to me after and say, ‘Oh that sounds like a banjo! That sounds like a harp! That sounds like a guitar!’ The pipa really is a combination of all plucked instruments, and I’m glad people always find something familiar.”Watch and Read More

10/31/2017Harrison’s concerto bridges the traditions of East and WestJoshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle
"Harrison’s 1997 Concerto for Pipa and Orchestra is the centerpiece of the upcoming concert by the China National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra, and it features Wu Man — a virtuoso of the lute-like instrument who also maintains a stylistic connection to both the U.S. and her native China — as soloist."Read More

10/30/2017Chinese touch to familiar formsChen Nan, China Daily
"It's fascinating to have a Western composer write for a Chinese instrument. I am looking forward to performing with the NCPA Orchestra," Wu says.
"Many of the musicians in the orchestra are from Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where I graduated; the conductor Lyu Jia, for example. It's like a reunion."Read More (Chinanews.com) / (China Daily)

10/29/2017Feature: Chinese orchestra's concert showcases unique combination of Western, Chinese music Jian Ping, Xin Hua
[Wu Man] said she had played Harrison's piece hundreds of times with foreign orchestras in Europe and the United States, but Saturday night's concert [in Chicago] marked her first time to play it with a touring Chinese orchestra outside China. ... The audience so enthusiastically greeted Wu's performance that she had to return to the stage with an encore of "White Snow in Spring," a famous traditional pipa score that enabled her to demonstrate more playing skills.Read More (xinhuanet.com) / (china.org) / (Chinanews.com)

10/26/2017International stylePhilip Campbell, The Bay Area Reporter
"Brilliant instrumentalist Wu Man has performed with the China NCPA Orchestra in Europe and the U.S. Introducing Chinese music and her four-stringed pipa (sometimes called the Chinese lute) to Western audiences for years, she will perform Lou Harrison's Concerto for Pipa and String Orchestra in celebration of the composer's birth centennial (May 1917) on Sun., Nov. 5. It resonates well with beloved Lou's ties to Northern California."Read More

10/02/2017Pipa Virtuoso Wu Man explains five facts about the instrumentKyle MacMillan, CSO Sounds & Stories
"Put simply, Wu Man is the world’s best known and most respected exponent of the pipa, a four-stringed, lute-like instrument introduced 2,000 years ago. In addition to appearing as a founding member of cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s cross-genre Silk Road Ensemble, she tours worldwide on her own, performing with symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles such as the Kronos Quartet and Brooklyn Rider, and giving solo recitals."Read More

9/28/2017Pipa virtuoso Wu Man performs liveLaurie Niles, Radio New Zealand
"Wu Man is here to perform with the New Zealand String Quartet. The founding member of Yo-yo Ma’s Silkroad Ensemble plays her pipa live in the studio and discusses the fascinating evolution of her solo career which has seen her perform with Kronos Quartet and premiere works by Philip Glass, Lou Harrison, Bright Sheng and Tan Dun."Read & Listen

8/23/2017Kronos Makes New Quartet Music Available for StudentsLaurie Niles, Violinist.com
"The compositions represent a huge variety of modern styles and cultural language, filtered through the medium of a string quartet. For example: Would your quartet like to explore the musical vocabulary of the lute-like Chinese pipa, in a piece called "Four Chinese Paintings," by Wu Man?"Read More

8/23/2017Kronos Makes New Quartet Music Available for StudentsLaurie Niles, Violinist.com
"The compositions represent a huge variety of modern styles and cultural language, filtered through the medium of a string quartet. For example: Would your quartet like to explore the musical vocabulary of the lute-like Chinese pipa, in a piece called "Four Chinese Paintings," by Wu Man?"Read More

8/14/2017Wu Man: Chinese Music on the World StageLi Yiqi, China Pictorial
Tens of thousands of performances made Wu the musician she is today, and each one remains like a precious possession.
“I wasn’t thinking about numbers back then,” Wu recalls. “I just wanted to learn and introduce such a cool instrument to as many people as I could. Only much later on did Western media and spectators start talking about dissemination of Chinese music and culture. My face and my pipa have always been symbols of the East.”Read More

8/11/2017La Jolla SummerFest Contrasts Tan Dun and Stravinsky at Athenaeum ConcertKen Herman, San Diego Story
"...it was a pleasant reminiscence to hear Tan Dun’s Concerto for String Quartet and Pipa with Wu Man as the pipa soloist. ... Hearing Wu Man play the alternately startling and ravishing pipa solos proved an exceptional treat to the members of the Athenaeum audience ... In this demanding, rewarding work, the Ulysses Quartet and Wu Man joined in an unusually felicitous partnership, and hearing them perform in the congenial intimacy of the La Jolla Athenaeum could not have been improved upon!"Read More

8/10/2017Great performances and a puzzling premiere at SummerFestChristian Hertzog, San Diego Union-Tribune
"Soloist Wu Man is one of the finest pipa experts on the planet, and she has aggressively commissioned prominent composers such as Tan Dun and David Lang to write for her. ... Wu Man played confidently [in the West Coast premiere of Xiaogang Ye's Gardenia with the Miro Quartet], and hearing her in Conrad Prebys Hall was a treat; it gives plucked notes more life."Read More

7/06/2017Concert review: Kronos Quartet played expansively and provocatively at Dominion-ChalmersPeter Hum, OTTAWA CITIZEN
"First there was Silk and Bamboo, which struck the evening’s final world-music note. The composition by Chinese pipa player Wu Man was rich and moody, not only for its signature pentatonic melodies but also because Kronos’s violist Hank Dutt switched to a clanging hand cymbal and wood blocks to further the piece’s mood and rhythm."Read More

7/06/2017Review: Kronos Quartet offers up some prime Canadian content in musical tour around the worldNatasha Gauthier, arts file
"The quartet performed two encores. Silk and Bamboo, written for Kronos by pipa virtuoso Wu Man, showed off the members’ chameleon versatility, with violist Hank Dutt playing different Chinese percussion instruments. The ensemble chose a lush, Ellington-esque arrangement of Strange Fruit to close."Read More

6/22/2017Wu Man and Shanghai Quartet: Make Music Not War at Park Avenue ArmorySusan Hall, Berkshire Fine Arts
"Wu Man, a contemporary master of the [pipa], played solo for us to start the evening. In her spike red heels, red stockings and a red dress, this diminutive figure dominated the stage of the newly restored officers’ room at the Park Avenue Armory."Read More

6/21/2017From chinoiserie to Sheer ExcitementHarry Rolnick, CONCERTO NET
"Yet all of this was secondary to the opening work, a Pipa solo by Wu Man herself. Her instrument, her beguiling smile, her attitude all have a glowing elegance. Yet it was the plethora of sounds which make her such a singular artist. Her colors could have a single silvery tune, or take on a multi-toned twang, her hands could create the harmonies of a harp, present hard and soft sounds together or replicate the chaotic crowd at a baseball game."Read More

6/18/2017Pipa Master Wu Man to Play New York City StageElizabeth Yuan, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
"The woman now considered the world’s greatest pipa player spent years asking herself, “What am I going to do?”...Wu Man, now 54 years old, was the first person to get a master’s degree in her instrument—a four-stringed lute with a two-millennia history—at China’s top music school, the Central Conservatory of Music, in Beijing. She became its youngest faculty member. She had learned the very limited repertoire of notated pipa songs, which numbered a few dozen, given its oral tradition roots."Read More [pdf]

6/01/2017The Virtuoso Bringing Silk Road Music to a National AudienceHenry Ace Knight, SIXTH TONE
"As applause faded into expectant silence following the final notes of pipa virtuoso Wu Man’s May 7 performance in Suzhou, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, the audience awaited an encore. One concertgoer requested “Shimian Maifu,” a jewel of the four-stringed lute’s traditional solo repertoire. “Next time,” Wu laughed, exchanging a mirthful glance with Tajik tanbur master Sirojiddin Juraev. “Tonight is about sharing the music of the Silk Road with you."Read More

5/31/2017Festival celebrates arts and ideas with performances, talks, music, and moreSusan Gonzalez, Yale News
"Wu Man and Miró Quartet will perform the world-premiere of “Gardenia” by Chinese composer Xiaogang Ye on Thursday, June 22, at 8 p.m. in Morse Recital Hall. “Gardenia” was composed for string quartet and Pipa, a traditional Chinese instrument."Read More

5/31/2017Your 2017 Classical Music Summer Festival GuideEliza Grace Martin, WQXR
"Pipa virtuoso Wu Man teams up with the critically beloved Míro Quartet for the world premiere of Gardenia, by Chinese composer Xiaogang Ye. Gardenia, which symbolizes “eternal joy” in Chinese culture, is the most recent edition to Ye’s subtropical plant series and draws heavily from the folk traditions of Hunan Province, in South Central China. It’s a rare opportunity to hear Ye's work premiere outside of Shanghai; this concert is not to be missed."Read More

5/24/2017Labor of Love? The Work of Asian and Asian American Classical Musicians in the Silk Road EnsembleSuzanne Chen, Asian American Music
"In their documentary trailer, the pipa player, Wu Man, proclaimed, “There’s no East or West. It’s just a globe.”... The music of the Silk Road Ensemble shows the potential of music as a form of resistance against dominant discourses of taste and authenticity, which are often used to devalue the music of Asian Americans."Read More

5/17/2017Chinese pipa musician Wu Man explores the roots of China's traditional musicZhang Yuchen, GLOBAL TIMES
"On May 4, Wu kicked off her Borderlands: Wu Man and Master Musicians from the Silk Route tour in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, and also the starting point of the ancient Silk Road. On Sunday, she completed the eighth stop on her tour with a performance in Beijing..."The Borderlands concert is a good example of how music can shorten the distances between us and shows the importance of cultural exchanges between nations," Wu told the Global Times on Sunday."Read More

5/08/2017Tajik musician participates in AKMI-organized concert tour of ChinaAsia-Plus Media Group
"The tour, titled “Borderlands: Wu Man and Master Musicians from the Silk Route”, showcases the long history of cultural interaction and exchange among musicians from China and Central Asia. For the Music Initiative, the ”Borderlands” tour represents a first step toward developing relationships with artistic communities, performing artists, and performing arts organizations in China with the aim of creating long-term networks for collaboration."Read More

5/04/2017From China with loveSteve Pfarrer, Amherst Bulletion
"It’s the same path that some modern Chinese musicians, such as pipa player Wu Man and celebrated cellist Yo-Yo Ma, have taken over the past decade or so, blending Chinese folk and traditional music with western classical music, as Wu Man did at a performance last year at the FAC with the Peking Orchestra."Read More

5/02/2017Wu Man: love of the luteChen Nan, The Telegraph
"After many successful collaborations with major western musicians, celebrated Chinese pipa (lute) player Wu Man is returning to display her astonishing talent in her homeland."Read More

5/01/2017Where does Anbang get its bucks? Jeremy Goldkorn, SUPCHINA
"In 2008, filmmaker Andrea Cavazzuti and pipa player Wu Man 吴蛮 began shooting a documentary about a family in Shaanxi Province who were celebrated locally for their shadow puppet opera performances in the tradition of lao qiang (老腔 lǎo qiāng), which dates back to the early Ming dynasty."Read More

5/01/2017Big idea. New Haven's summer festival is both local and globalRebekah Fraser, Yale Alumni Magazine
"This season, [world premieres] will include The End of TV, by multimedia production company Manual Cinema; and a new composition by China’s celebrated composer Ye Xiaogang, performed by the Texas-based Miró Quartet and Grammy-nominated pipa player Wu Man.
Wu Man, who moved to New Haven with her husband immediately after leaving China in 1990, learned English in New Haven and performed her first US solo concert at the Yale University Art Gallery. “For me, premiering this piece at the festival in New Haven—it’s something very special to share East-West music with the audience there,” she says. “The arts festival brings all the people together to share ideas, to share music.” Although Wu has since moved from the state, she adds, “There’s a very special feeling and space for me in New Haven."Read More

4/29/2017Junge Musiker aus New York geben RekordkonzertgJoachim Mischke, HAMBURGER ABENDBLATT
"If Jimi Hendrix ever wants to reincarnate in the body of a Chinese lute virtuoso - this woman would be the best choice for his return."Read More

4/28/2017Lotus Live on WFHB: Wu ManJim Manion, WFHB
"Recognized as the world’s premier pipa virtuoso and leading ambassador of Chinese music, Wu Man has carved out a career as a soloist, educator and composer giving her lute-like instrument—which has a history of over 2,000 years in China—a new role in both traditional and contemporary music."Read More

4/25/2017Knights öffnen Blick in fremde WeltenChristel Voith, Schwäbische
"This pipa, played by the virtuoso Wu Man, was at the center of the [work by] the contemporary Chinese composer Tan Dun. ... And always there is the sound of Pipa, sometimes fluttering ... like a little bird, sometimes singing softly."Read More

4/15/2017Rediscovering Xinjiang’s musical rootsAtul Aneja, The Hindu
"These days, subway carriages are advertising an upcoming concert of Wu Man. Ms. Wu has dug deep into the fast-fading musical traditions of China and Central Asia, and fused them with more contemporary sounds. Her extraordinary exertions, unearthing the region’s composite and unique musical heritage, have now found worldwide acclaim."Read More

4/12/2017Kathleen Chalfant Cast In Yale Rep’s ‘Mary Jane’; A ‘Makeover’ Cocktail At Hartford StageChristopher Arnott, Hartford Courant
"It Was A Very Good Year
Hope you have pleasant memories of the 2013-14 theater season, because it's coming back big-time. Several of the key names in the 2017 International Festival of Arts & Ideas lineup — saxophonist Jimmy Greene, composer Martin Bresnick, pipa player Wu Man and musical theater creators Aaron Jafferis and Byron Au Yong — were all part of the 2013 fest as well. This year's festival runs June 3 to 24 in New Haven."Read More

4/11/2017Facebook Live: Wu Man (video performance/interview)Terrance McKnight (host), WQXR
Watch acclaimed pipa player and composer Wu Man (Silk Road Ensemble, Shanghai Quartet and The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center) play live from the WQXR studios. Turn on your sound to enjoy this special performance and conversation hosted by WQXR's Terrance McKnight.https://www.facebook.com/WQXRClassical/videos/10154501082876732/

4/9/2017San Diego Symphony 2017-18 season mixes old and new with flairBeth Wood, San Diego Union-Tribune
"The chamber series will highlight the talents of the orchestra’s musicians and feature internationally acclaimed artists. Wu Man, who resides in San Diego when she’s not touring the globe, is renowned for playing the pipa, a four-stringed Chinese lute."Read More

4/7/2017Pipa virtuoso Wu Man to perform in ShanghaiZhang Qian, Shanghai Daily
"AS an active US-based Chinese musician, pipa musician Wu Man has successfully promoted the traditional Chinese instrument to the West world in the past 30 years. This Saturday, she will present the beauty of the instrument to audiences at Shanghai Symphony Hall."Read More

4/5/2017Lincoln Center Has an Eclectic Week of Music in StoreAnthony Tommasini, The New York Times
"The concert features Wu Man, the world’s finest player of the pipa (the Chinese lute); the Shanghai Quartet; and the pianist Gloria Chien. The program includes the New York premiere of a work for pipa and string quartet by Zhao Lin based on his father’s music for the acclaimed film “Raise the Red Lantern.”"Read More

4/02/2017Review: Pipa performance reflects agility, abilityPeter Jacobi, HERALD TIMES
"Her name is Wu Man, a remarkable China-born and trained champion of the pipa, which can produce sweet and soft melodies along with forceful, even abrasive, sounds. Wu has lived the past quarter-century in the United States, spreading the word about her beloved pipa and commissioning new music for it. ... from the first measures of “Dance of the Yi People,” ... one sensed that nothing technical could faze her. And as best as a listener new to the pipa such as I could discern, nothing did, none of the strumming or plucking demands, no matter how complicated they seemed. ... [In “Shi Mian Mai Fu”] The music turned bellicose and then triumphant to reflect a victory for what became the Han Dynasty. Man’s agility and ability to suggest actions and moods proved outstanding. She played with a fury that brought amazement."Read More

3/30/2017Abu Dhabi Festival 2017: Yo-Yo Ma’s roadmap of peaceBen East, The National
"Featuring musicians from more than 20 countries, last year’s Grammy Award-winning album Sing Me Home is a melting pot of intoxicating sounds and instruments, starring everyone from Chinese pipa player Wu Man to Syrian clarinettist Kinan Azmeh."Read More

3/30/2017A Festival Soldiers OnBrian Slattery, New Haven Independent
"Master pipa player Wu Man and the classical Miró Quartet will debut a piece from Chinese composer Xioagang Ye on June 22."Read More

3/24/2017Grammy Award Winner Wu Man To Perform At Bloomington's Buskirk-Chumley TheaterWBIW
"The goal of China Remixed is to highlight the most diverse and dynamic aspects of the contemporary Chinese culture from China's mainland to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and America. China Remixed reflects all the ways that arts and humanities of China impact IU and vice versa. The ten-week themed program has included noteworthy featured guests, dance, live Kung Fu choreography, classic plays, art and video exhibits, films, a weekly speaker series, and more."Read More

3/21/2017Lotus Blossoms unites international artists during 22nd yearSanya Ali, Indiana Daily Student
"Lotus Blossoms is one of the many initiatives members of Lotus Education & Arts take on throughout the year. This year’s lineup includes AlHaj, Wu Man playing the Chinese lute, or pipa, the Sones de México Ensemble, Samite from Uganda and Fiddle n’ Feet, representing North American and Celtic tradition. "Read More

3/15/2017Interview: The First Chinese-born Artist to Perform at the White House ~ Wu Man ~ MARIA BANKS, The Middle Land (orig. published in Circle Magazine, 2012)
"During the course of our meeting Wu Man speaks with an eager enthusiasm imparting her love of not only music but of her most important mission; that of an artist. Our discussion includes what it means to be a world-famous performer bridging the gap between traditional Chinese culture and the modern Western world – as well as being a mother."Read More

3/15/2017The Music of Strangers: Lesson 3
Elements of culture can survive despite the attempts of political regimes to legislate them out of favor, separate them geographically, or extinguish them entirely. "The Music of Strangers" curriculum looks at this idea through the eyes of Wu Man and the Cultural Revolution in China.
Teachers, download the complete curriculum guide today at http://bit.ly/teachglobal

3/15/2017Movie Review: The Music of Strangers - From Mao to MaJames Croot, The Southland Times
"Part From Mao to Mozart sequel, part Buena Vista Social Club, it both celebrates the skills and showcases the experiences of global talents like Chinese pipa player Wu Man and Spanish, yes Spanish bagpiper Cristina Pato. They talk about the challenges of keeping their roots and traditions alive via evolution."Read More

3/10/2017Film Review: The Music of StrangersJohn Daly-Peoples, The National Business Review (New Zealand)
"Wu Man who plays a traditional Chinese instrument – the pipa – is shown playing traditional tunes but she also crosses boundaries using the instrument as a contemporary guitar. She visits a group of elderly musicians and shadow puppeteers in rural |China, most of whom have never left their village. The encounter leads to the troupe performing in New York."Read More

3/06/2017Wu Man, master of the pipaKyle Long, NUVO
"[Wu Man] released nearly a dozen critically acclaimed solo albums and recorded important work with artists like Philip Glass and Kronos Quartet. Wu Man is a founding member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project. An incredibly versatile musician, Wu Man is equally comfortable contributing to experimental music projects like Bang on a Can, as she is performing on the soundtrack of Kung Fu Panda 3."Read, Listen, and Watch More

3/05/2017HBO PREMIERES 'THE MUSIC OF STRANGERS'Kevin McDonough, Virgin Islands Daily News
"Each tells stories filled with tragic history. Wu Man championed a form of traditional Chinese music all but stamped out by the Cultural Revolution."Read More

3/03/2017Wu Man, master of the pipa, searches for beautiful impurity with cross-cultural collaborationsEric Volmers, CALGARY HERALD
"Man is generally considered one of the world’s foremost player of the Chinese pipa, a rarefied talent in the west but one she has managed to parlay into exciting and eclectic modern classical music over the past 25 years."Read More

3/02/2017World-Renowned Pipa PlayerCBC Radio - The Homestretch, Season 2017, Episode 300281823
World-renowned pipa player, Wu Man, will perform at the Bella Concert Hall on March 3. She has worked with the likes of Yo-Yo Ma and the Kronos Quartet and you may have heard her pipa playing in the movie, Kung Fu Panda 3.

2/20/2017Review: Shanghai Quartet with Wu Man, pipaClarke Bustard , LETTER V
"As Wu Man played the traditional Chinese “Xi Yang Xiao Gu” (“Flute and Drum Music at Sunset”) and the Central Asian “Kui: Song of Kazakhstan,” it was not too much of a stretch to imagine those pieces adapted for an Appalachian stringband – assuming you could find a mandolinist nimble enough to pull off her speedy fingering and exceptionally light touch at the quietest volume."Read More

2/17/2017Pipa Virtuoso Wu Man Performs with the Shanghai QuartetMike Goldberg, WCVE
Wu Man is recognized as the world’s premier pipa virtuoso and is a leading ambassador of Chinese music. Her career as a soloist, educator and composer has given her “lute-like” instrument a new role in both traditional and contemporary music.Read More

2/12/2017Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble Win 2017 Grammy Award!Susan Lewis, WRTI
WRTI's Susan Lewis has the story on the Silk Road Ensemble, a group that seeks connections across cultures. Listen and Read More

2/03/2017Musicians from East and West come together for Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Chinese New Year concertTrish Crawford, Toronta Star
"Canadian composer Vincent Ho, who was born in Ottawa, was brought in to work on the project and brainstormed extensively with Chinese musician Wu Man as well as Dashan (Mark Rowswell) a Canadian who has lived in China for decades and is famous as a comedian there." Read More

2/01/2017Performance Oklahoma - Wu Man & The Shanghai Quartet Kimberly Powell, Public Radio Tulsa
"The world’s premier pipa virtuosa, and leading ambassador of Chinese music Wu Man has carved out a career giving the ancient instrument a contemporary role in the modern musical world." Read More

1/21/2017Kronos Quartet celebrates female inspiration, ethnic diversityChristian Hertzog, San Diego Union Tribune
"The works by Ali-Zadeh, Tagaq, Knox, Wu Man and Vrebalov were composed as part of Kronos’ “Fifty For The Future” project, a five-year commissioning, recording and publishing project involving 50 composers (half of them women) from all over the globe." Read More

1/14/2017Sounds from the Silk RouteKrutika Behrawala, MID-DAY.COM
"A world-renowned performer on the pipa, Wu Man has been instrumental in putting the ancient four-stringed Chinese lute on the global map as a leading instrument of contemporary music in the East and West. The artiste performs traditional and contemporary music on the pipa. She was also a founding member of the Silk Road Ensemble, created by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and has played an active role in cross-cultural music making, in particular with members of China’s Uyghur minority." Read More

1/06/2017Wu Man and Shanghai String Quartet share the pipa and Chinese folk music with Edmond concertgoersBen Luschen, Oklahoma Gazette
"[Wu] Man is one of the planet’s best and most celebrated players of the pipa,... When Wu Man plays a show with Shanghai String Quartet, they’re more than colleagues. In some ways, the group is like an extension of her family." Read More

12/26/2016Chinese stars performing at ArmstrongEdmond Sun
"Wu Man is the world’s premier pipa virtuoso and composer, giving the instrument a new part in contemporary and traditional music. The Grammy-nominated musician has been named the artist 'most responsible for bringing the pipa to the Western world,' by the Los Angeles Times." Read More

12/06/2016The Other Classical Musics, Wigmore Hall, London, review: A bold move to throw open its doors this year to the music of the Muslim worldMichael Church, The Independent
"The final part of a new concert series at London's Wigmore Hall celebrating non-European classical traditions from Afghanistan to Azerbaijan focused on music in China and Syria." Read More

12/05/2016Wu Man and Co, world music review: Group effort is a slow burnSimon Broughton, Evening Standard
"Wu Man brilliantly demonstrated her technique with lyrical melodies, dramatic tremolos and percussive snaps." Read More

12/01/2016DVD: The Music of StrangersTom Birchenough, THE ARTS DESK
"...Wu Man, a virtuoso of the pipa, the Chinese lute, explores the disappearing traditions of the remote regions of her native land." Read More

11/28/2016Movie Review: "The Music of Strangers"Jean Lowerison, SDGLN
"Wu Man, the world’s premier pipa (Chinese lute) player, was in the first class at the newly-reopened music conservatory after the Cultural Revolution. When she returned after touring with the group, she found traditional music quickly disappearing, and has become a musical preservationist." Read More

11/18/2016Movie Review: "The Music of Strangers" Catherine Sedgwick, The UP Coming
"Brilliant pipa player Wu Man speaks of revolution squashing art in China as the “Party tells you what to do”." Read More

11/14/2016FILM HOUSE: Film shows music crosses cultural divides Jon Eben Field, St. Catharines Standard
"By focusing on key members of the Ensemble, such as Chinese pipa-virtuoso Wu Ma... this documentary film directed by Morgan Neville weaves together a tapestry of musical integration and collectivity." Read More

11/14/2016Memorable festival of musical richesChang Tou Liang, THE STRAITS TIMES
"...Wu Man and Wu Tong's Duo for pipa and sheng, all of which exhibited a rare and exuberant artistry from the performers." Read More

10/28/2016The Musical Group That Plays The Bawu, Jang-Go and ViolaLibby Coleman, OZY
"...But all the musicians pack a punch as they represent their countries (more than 20 total) or play an exotic instrument. One member, Wu Man, is the world’s leading Chinese pipa player." Read More

10/17/2016Kronos Quartet Kicks Off Its Ambitious Fifty for the Future ProjectDavid Templeton, STRINGS MAGAZINE
The final of the “first five” is “Four Chinese Paintings,” by Wu Man, the Grammy-winning pipa player from China. Composed on the pipa—a four-stringed Chinese lute—the four-movement piece was arranged for Kronos by Danny Clay.
Read More

10/07/2016Video: Strings Session Presents: Silk Road EnsembleSTRINGS MAGAZINE
Strings stopped by UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Playhouse on the evening that the Silk Road Ensemble was set to lend its eclectic sound to the Mark Morris Dance Group’s newest evening-length piece Layla and Majnun. The group took time before rehearsal to perform an excerpt from the timeless operatic work and “Little Birdie,” a song from the ensemble’s latest album Sing Me Home. Watch

9/20/2016Life awards the best of the festTHE STRAITS TIMES
Borderlands: Sonic Tapestry Award
"This combination of Chinese pipa music and Uighur muqam (suite involving poetry, singing, instrumental music and dance) had the drawing power of a muezzin's call to prayer, heady aroma of freshly burnt incense and earthly pleasures of a seraglio."
Read More

9/17/2016Tracing roots of pipa in journey of discoveryTHE STRAITS TIMES
"In Borderlands, world-renowned pipa virtuosa Wu Man traced the roots of her instrument all the way to Central Asia, to a time of antiquity when cross-fertilisation of cultures was a way of life. For this concert, she was joined by five Uighur musicians and a dancer from Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in China's far west."
Read More

9/15/2016GLIMPSE WHAT THE FUTURE COULD HOLD AT THE SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTSHarper’s BAZAAR SINGAPORE
"Through numerous concert tours Wu Man has premiered hundreds of new works for the pipa, while spearheading multimedia projects to both preserve and create awareness of China’s ancient musical traditions. Her adventurous spirit and virtuosity have led to collaborations across artistic disciplines, allowing Wu Man to reach wider audiences as she works to break through cultural and musical borders."
Read More

8/22/2016Silk Road and YoYo Ma at Ravinia 2016 Review- An International Extravaganza of MusicSPLASH MAGAZINE
"An amazing performance piece, simply entitled “Duo” with Wu Tong on the sheng, a Chinese mouth-blown free reed instrument and Wu Man on pipa, or Chinese lute, was a mystical version of call and return."
Read More

9/05/2016VIDEO: Wu Man and Wu Tong Duo
Check out this improvised duo based on a traditional pipa tune with #SilkRoadEnsemble members Wu Man and Tong Wu!

8/22/2016Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble make some joyful noise at the Hollywood BowlLos Angeles Times
"There were other intoxicating mergers — some written out, some improvised — like pipa master Wu Man’s hoe-down-like duet with Wu Tong on another Chinese reed instrument (the sheng), or a wonderfully weird polyglot deconstruction of Billy Strayhorn’s “Take the ‘A’ Train.”" Read More

8/15/2016Silk Road Ensemble and Yo-Yo Ma spirit away the rain on vibrant night at Blossom (review)Cleveland.com
"...with Wu Man, the universally acknowledged queen of the pipa. Man herself was the author of "Green (Vincent's Tune)," a simple melody blown up to the point of explosion in a fit of wailing, bass drumming, and gong slamming." Read More

8/12/2016Silk Road Ensemble transports Wolf Trap audience across the worldThe Washington Post
"...when Wu Man performed miracles of dexterous athleticism on her amplified pipa (a Chinese lute). And there were gasps of appreciation as a percussion section rooted in the Indian, Arabic, African and Asian worlds collaborated in almost irresistible complexity." Read More

8/11/2016Yo-Yo Ma and his Silk Road Ensemble come to Weill HallThe Press Democrat
"In the ever-widening circle of world music, Wu Man is known as a rock star, an exponent of the traditional Chinese repertoire and an interpretor of contemporary music written for pipa, an ancient, four-string instrument. As chronicled in the new documentary film, “The Music of Strangers,” the diminutive virtuoso also serves as one of the key members of cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble..." Read More

8/05/2016VIDEO: Musicians Haruka Fujii and Wu Man Perform Music Inspired by the Cave Temples of Dunhuangthe iris
"In this video filmed inside replica Cave 275, Haruka Fujii plays percussion (gong) and recalls a composition written by Maki Ishii for her mother, Mutsuko Fujii, and inspired by the composer’s trip to Dunhuang. Wu Man plays the Chinese pipa while reflecting on the animated spirit figures in the cave." Watch

8/05/2016Watch a Virtuoso Shred on the Traditional Chinese Pipanerdist.com
"In terms of Wu Man’s credentials as a virtuoso: she’s been playing the pipa since she was nine, was the first non-Western musician to win Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America, and has recorded and appeared on 40 albums—five of which were nominated for Grammy Awards. In the video, created for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Man busts out with a presumably spot-on rendition of “White Snow in Spring”... " Watch

7/25/2016Wu Man on the Ancient Roots of the Chinese PipaThe Iris
"Pipa virtuoso and Silk Road Ensemble member Wu Man explores the origins of the instrument and discusses her efforts to recreate the ancient music inspired by fragments of musical notations from the site’s Library Cave."
Listen

7/22/2016The Music of StrangersEU Jacksonville
"The musicians, such as Wu Man and Pato, also explore ways that they can preserve their own cultures despite the changing times. Wu Man is almost moved to tears when she talks to an eleventh-generation Chinese puppetmaster who is unsure about the future of his trade. Despite many moving and thought-provoking moments like this, the film zips back and forth between people and times with no clear direction and it becomes a bit disorienting after a while." Read More

7/21/2016‘The Music of Strangers’ The Long Island Advance
"Wu Man, a featured soloist on the Pipa in the film “Kung Fu Panda,” is also a star in her own world, being one of the first to study traditional music in China’s conservatory immediately after the Cultural Revolution. “There is no East or West. It’s just a globe,” she insists. Then she breaks tradition in an American guitar shop with a riff from Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man.”" Read More

7/14/2016“THE MUSIC OF STRANGERS”: Universal languageButler's Cinema Scene
"Wu Man is the reigning champ of the pipa, a Chinese lute, who grew up in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution and felt she had to flee her country if she was to expand her world by playing with foreign musicians. Now she frequently returns to her country to encourage young people to study traditional instruments." Read More

7/11/2016当交响乐遇上琵琶NCPA两团
Wu Man returns to Beijing to perform pipa concertos by Lou Harrison and Tan Dun with the China NCPA Orchestra on July 30. In advance of the performance, Wu Man was profiled in the NCPA magazine's article "When the Symphony Meets the Pipa." Read More (PDF)

7/08/2016Music and the Movies: The Music of StrangersThe Whole Note
"Wu Man, pipa virtuoso extraordinaire, who was part of the first class to enter the conservatory in China following the Cultural Revolution, and who benefited from Isaac Stern’s historic master classes [see the 1979 documentary From Mao to Mozart];"
Read More

6/24/2016'The Music of Strangers': Soulful doc on Yo-Yo Ma and his world-music bandPhiladelphia Inquirer
"Chinese pipa player Wu Man, seen with an electrified version of her instrument, has created a niche where none previously existed."
Read More

6/24/2016Interview: Morgan Neville on Yo-Yo Ma and “Music of Strangers”beliefnet.com
"People like Wu Man [from China] and Kayhan [from Iran], even though actually they left their homes, they’ve done more to preserve their tradition than the people that stayed."
Read More

6/23/2016Explore the world with these talented ‘Strangers’ Seattle Times
"Neville’s film, an irresistible kaleidoscope of music and good fellowship, lets us explore the globe with a group of talented musicians. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma, himself a citizen of the world (born in Paris of Chinese parents, he grew up in New York), founded the Silk Road Ensemble in 2000 as an “experiment,” he muses in the film: “What might happen when strangers meet?” Its members come from all corners of the world, as do their instruments: Cristina Pato’s gaita (a Galician bagpipe), Wu Man’s pipa (a historic Chinese lutelike instrument), Kayhan Kalhor’s kamancheh (an Iranian fiddle)."
Read More

6/23/2016New documentary on Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble illustrates power of musicChicago Tribune
"Wu Man is a musician from China who plays the pipa, a stringed instrument similar to a lute. Her virtuosity on the traditional Chinese instrument invites comparisons to world-class violinists. In the film, she describes how she was part of the first generation of musicians to return to the conservatory to study music after Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution banned formal music instruction in China."
Read More

6/23/2016‘The Music of Strangers’: A documentary looks at music — and so much moreThe Washington Post
"“Strangers” is not all heavy, though, and is punctuated by light moments. A young man in an American guitar shop insists on hearing Chinese musician Wu Man play Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” on her pipa, a teardrop-shaped lute."
Read More

6/21/2016Review: Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble at heart of documentary 'Music of Strangers'via the Mercury News, an LA Times review
"Wu Man, a virtuoso on the pipa (Chinese lute), who introduces the Zhang Family Band, now in its 11th generation of performers, to the world. "There is no East or West," she says. "It's just a globe.""
Read More

6/20/2016Yo-Yo Ma Plays Well With Others From EverywhereSan Francisco Classical Voice
"...the greatest potential for demonstrating evolution in classical music — or in society — comes down to the humanity in the stories and the exuberant musicians. This is where the documentary shines: in Man’s rendition of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man,” played for her stunned young son in Dusty’s Guitar shop in Oceanside, California..."
Read More

6/17/2016'The Music of Strangers' shows how musicmaking can be salvationThe Christian Science Monitor
"The sprightly Wu Man, who plays the Chinese stringed instrument called the pipa, was, like Ma, a child prodigy, and, like him, she has retained an ineffable love for music. She has the definitive last word in this film: “There is no East or West. It’s just a globe.”"
Read More

6/12/2016Film Review: The Music of Strangers: Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road EnsembleDirty Movies
"The pipa player Wu Man was the first woman to enter a conservatory soon after the Chinese Revolution, in 1966. She tells that at that time “dreaming was the next music”."
Read More

6/11/2016Film Review: The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road EnsembleFilm Journal International
"Wu Man was one of the original Chinese kids taught by Isaac Stern in a historical cultural exchange from the past, and her specialty is the pipa, a lute-like traditional instrument."
Read More

6/10/2016A Music Documentary Is 'A Trojan Horse,' Says Oscar Winner Morgan NevilleNPR interview with director Morgan Neville
"The Music of Strangers was a big project. Neville shot his subjects in six different languages, filming them in locations as far-flung as China, Turkey and Iran. The film is full of brilliant performances and sumptuous colors, but what's more incisive are the segments in which Neville zeroes in on certain members of the ensemble. Among them are the Paris-born, American-raised Ma, of Chinese descent; the deeply soulful Iranian kamancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor; the exuberant pipa master Wu Man, from China; the spirited Galician bagpipe player Cristina Pato; and the talented Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh. (As it happens, NPR Music has showcased each of them individually in video performances we've produced.)"
Watch & Read More

6/10/2016Film Review: The Music Of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma And The Silk Road EnsembleRoger Ebert
"But it is two women who steal the show. First is pipa player Wu Man, a petite Chinese whirlwind who is first seen in a guitar store banging out Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” on an electric model of her four-string signature instrument that more frequently emits haunting, hypnotic sounds. Later, she chats with the male members of the Zhang family in the Shaanxi province of China, who provide the soundtrack for old-school live puppet shows. A smiling elder member of the clan declares that his country “has the most ancient rock ‘n’ roll,” before proving it by whooping and yelling while banging on antique instruments. Alas, the 21st-century marketplace for such entertainment is quickly dying off."
Read More

6/10/2016Interview: Morgan Neville on Going Beyond the Notes for “The Music of Strangers” The Moveable Fest
The "20 Feet From Stardom" director on transcending borders with a portrait of Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble.
Read More

6/10/2016Joshua Reviews Morgan Neville’s The Music Of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma And The Silk Road Ensemble [Theatrical Review]Criterion Cast
"...Strangers introduces us to artists like Wu Man and Cristina Pato, both perfect exemplars of what this group attempts to do through its art. Playing the pipa and gaita respectively, these two artists are taking on instruments that are slowly fading from the cultural zeitgeist of their respective homelands."
Read More

6/10/2016Amid Chaos and Conflict, Yo-Yo Ma Makes Music His Peace OfferingTakepart
"The film profiles four ensemble members. Pi-pa player Wu Man wrestles to belong in both China and America as she works to preserve Chinese folk music..."
Read More

6/10/2016How Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble Got Its Spectacular SoundWired
"The film, five years in the making, offers intimate glimpses into the lives of several musicians, many of whom escaped repressive regimes. Wu Man visits the conservatory where she practiced the pipa, a Chinese lute, to escape the Cultural Revolution."
Read More

6/10/2016How Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble Got Its Spectacular SoundThis Week in New York
"...Chinese pipa virtuoso Wu Man, the first Chinese artist to play at the White House..."
Read More

6/09/2016Movie Review: THE MUSIC OF STRANGERS: YO-YO MA AND THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLECulver City Observer
"Honing in on some of the more colorful musicians, we meet several up close and personal: Wu Man - master of the pipa, a Chinese stringed instrument. Wu Man grew up in post-Maoist China and as one of the more fortunate, [her] musical talents were shepherded and cultivated..."
Read More

6/09/2016Film Review: ‘The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble’Variety
"Her name is Wu Man, and she’s the world master of the pipa, a short-necked wooden lute that she plays like Jimmy Page unplugged. Wu is a traditionalist, devoted to an instrument of painstaking demand that stretches back to the third century. But she is also a free-form sound machine. “The Music of Strangers” is an aural celebration that’s about using the past to break free of boundaries."
Read More

6/09/2016Film Review: Yo-Yo Ma's international ensemble forms the heart of the 'Music of Strangers' docThe LA Times
Wu Man, a virtuoso on the pipa, or Chinese lute, who introduces the wild and crazy Zhang Family Band, now in its 11th generation of performers, to the world. "There is no East or West," she says. "It's just a globe."
Read More

6/09/2016Film Review: ‘The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble’ Review: Grace Notes From All OverThe Wall Street Journal
"...Wu Man, the world’s premier virtuoso of the pipa, an ancient Chinese instrument related to the lute, and an irrepressible apostle of Chinese music..."
Read More

4/26/2016WFMT interview
Wu Man spoke with WFMT in Chicago about what makes the pipa cool.
Read More

4/25/2016Wu Man - Kronos' Fifty for the Future Composer Interview Video by Evan Neff
Wu Man, a Year One Composer for Kronos' Fifty for the Future, discusses her musical background, her relationship with Kronos, the piece she wrote for Fifty for the Future, and more.
Watch Video

4/13/2016The New York Times' video website features a video of Wu Man speaking about Kung Fu Panda 320th CENTURY FOX PICTURESWatch Video

4/11/2016Wu Man and the Shanghai Quartet Baffle at BaileyThe Cornell Daily Sun
"Thankfully, Wu Man’s incredible talents grabbed some deserved spotlight in a traditional solo known as “Xi yang xiao gu,” or “Flute and drum music at sunset.” Shed of the modern contrivances that flanked it, its colors shone all the brighter. Wu Man’s artistry was best expressed in the subtle changes — bending pitches and such — which she applied to notes after they were plucked, thereby evoking so much of the landscape and texture the music was meant to describe. Here were rhythms of nature recreated in an instrument born from it: a perfect cycle."Read More

4/08/2016Wu Man and the Shanghai Quartet bring the East and the West one step closer to each otherThe Wellesley News
"Wu’s mystifying pipa playing rendered a lyricality that stood out from the rest of the strings, yet the pipa’s melodies fit in perfectly with the quartet’s part and the music remained as smooth as the sight of Wu’s fingers dancing across the pipa’s strings. Although the pipa is a plucked instrument, Wu’s masterful rapid-plucking techniques paired with skillful crescendos and decrescendos flowing in and out of the melodies created a single line of music that conjured up images of a secluded but free-flowing river in the middle of an untouched forest. Wu’s beautiful pipa music together with the resonating nature of the string quartet undoubtedly came together to create an exceptionally soothing composition."Read More

4/07/2016Wu Man and the Shanghai Quartet Make CT DebutThe Wesleyan Argus
"During a traditional Chinese solo piece, [Wu Man's] virtuosic musician skills echoed around the silent hall and her expression of range and dynamic was seamless and beautiful."Read More

4/06/2016[Interview] Wu Man Is The Master of the Pipa And an Ambassador of China Indy Week
"The first time I saw Wu Man play the pipa, a four-stringed lute with an ancient Chinese lineage, time seemed to stop."Read More

4/04/2016Review: Kronos Quartet Fosters Contemporary Works for StringsThe New York Times
Wu Man's composition for Kronos Quartet's Fifty for the Future project - her first piece for Western string instruments - received its New York premiere on Saturday at ‪‎Carnegie‬'s ‪‎Zankel‬ Hall. The The New York Times wrote of her work, Ancient Echo from Four Chinese Paintings: "This beautifully modest piece unfolds with a melody in steady notes and tender, pungent harmonies, almost like an Asian chorale."Read More

3/25/2016Watch the official trailer for "The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble," featuring Wu Man. The film opens in U.S. theaters June 10, 2016.
From the director of the Oscar®-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom and the critically acclaimed Best of Enemies, the new film "The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble" tells the extraordinary story of the renowned international musical collective created by legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The feature-length documentary follows this group of diverse instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, arrangers, visual artists and storytellers as they explore the power of music to preserve tradition, shape cultural evolution and inspire hope. themusicofstrangers.filmWatch "The Music of Strangers" Official Trailer

3/17/2016BYU hosts pipa-player Wu Man in BRAVO! showcaseDaily Herald
In anticipation of the concert at BYU for the BRAVO! showcase, the Daily Herald ran a story on Wu Man, in which she talks about the pipa, her work, and her experiences with BYU.Read More

2/25/2016Since 2000, the Silk Road Ensemble - a musical collective formed by cellist Yo-Yo Ma - has brought together more than 70 performers and composers, including Wu Man, for performances, recordings, and the creation of new music. The ensemble’s newest recording Sing Me Home, a companion album to the documentary feature The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, features a piece composed by Wu Man titled “Green (Vincent’s Tune)” performed by the SRE with Grammy award-winning vocal octet Roomful of Teeth. Wu Man composed the piece in 2003 based on a melody sung by her then four-year-old son Vincent. Wu Man wrote in the liner notes, “I composed this piece from Vincent's tune as a means to remember those wonderful times we spent together and I named the piece "Green" after my favorite color. Green represents the spring when everything grows and life renews itself full of energy and enthusiasm.” The recording will be available on April 22 through Sony Music Masterworks, and is currently available for pre-sale on Amazon. The album will also be available for pre-sale on iTunes on February 12.More CDs

02/16/2016Wu Man is keynote speaker at the National Chinese Language Conference presented in Chicago by the Asia Society on Thursday, April 28
Wu Man opens the ninth annual National Chinese Language Conference (NCLC), co-organized by the Asia Society and the College Board, with a pipa performance and speech. The conference takes place in Chicago, IL, from April 28-30. The NCLC is the largest annual convention in the United States dedicated to Chinese language and cultural education and the educational partnership between the U.S. and China. Over 1,200 educators attended the 2015 NCLC, and the conference has cumulatively attracted nearly 9,000 attendees. Other featured speakers include Ian Cheney, Andrew Coe, Monica Eng, Howie Southworth, and Martin Yan.

02/16/2016Wu Man continues North American Tour with the Shanghai String Quartet; Program features Multimedia Work
As part of a tour that takes them from Portland, Maine to Corpus Christi, Texas, Wu Man and the Shanghai Quartet (violinists Weigang Li and Yi-Wen Jiang, violist Honggang Li, and cellist Nicholas Tzavaras) present “A Night in Ancient and New China,” a program showcasing the extraordinary range of Chinese folk and contemporary music. The concert includes contemporary arrangements of Chinese folk tunes by violinist Yi-Wen Jiang, solo pipa works by Wu Man, and Concerto for String Quartet and Pipa by Tan Dun. The program also features a new commission: the multimedia work “Red Lantern” by the Chinese composer, Zhao Jiping, in collaboration with his son, Zhao Lin. This work is drawn from several of Zhao Jiping’s film scores, including Raise the Red Lantern, To Live, and Farewell My Concubine, which are among the most celebrated soundtracks in Chinese cinema.

02/08/2016Kronos Quartet Explorer Series, SFJAZZ Center, San Francisco — ‘Diverse and bracing’The Financial Times
Allan Ulrich of the Financial Times says: "Although injury prevented her from performing on the pipa, artist in residence Wu Man was on hand to present the ‪#‎premiere‬ of her beguiling "Four Chinese Paintings," marked by pentatonic scales and string slides and accompanied by tinkling percussion."
Read More

02/04/2016"Four Chinese Paintings," Wu Man's first composition for Western String Quartet, receives West Coast premiere at Kronos Festival
In early February, Wu Man returned to San Francisco, where she served as Artist-in-Residence for the Kronos Quartet’s second annual hometown music festival – Kronos Festival 2016: Explorer Series – celebrating musical cultures and traditions from around the globe. During the residency Wu Man heard the West Coast premiere of her first composition for Western string instruments, Four Chinese Paintings, which she composed for the Kronos’s Fifty for the Future project; and hosted four concerts, including a performance for families, with the Kronos Quartet and other guest artists. Ending the festival on a high note, Wu Man, who has collaborated with the Kronos Quartet for more than 20 years, became the second inductee into the “Kronos Hall of Fame,” joining Terry Riley.Wu Man and the Kronos Quartet

01/15/2016Wu Man's recent project, performing for the Soundtrack to Kung Fu Panda 3
Kung Fu Panda 3 Behind The Scenes Music B-Roll - Dreamworks 2016 Animation. Be sure to check out the film, which will be released on Jan. 29!
Watch Video

06/23/2015Percussion and Pierre Boulez: Ojai at Berkeley FestivalSan Francisco Classical Voice
As I walked quietly the perimeter of UC Berkeley’s Faculty Glade last Thursday, soft strands of John Luther Adams’ Sila unravelling all around me, the crunching of dead leaves under my feet providing a gentle counterpoint, I realized: This is what it feels like for your life to have its own soundtrack...
Read More

06/22/2015Ojai Music Festival Saturday and SundayIndependent
Sunday’s morning concert brought Maya Beiser together with Wu Man for an adventurous program that began with solos and duets and then turned to more experimental works for soloists with percussion...
Read More

06/15/2015The Ojai Music Festival Marches to a New BeatThe Wall Street Journal
Ms. Wu’s virtuosity on her pear-shaped instrument, which sounds like a mandolin, was impossible to resist in such cross-cultural works as Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Pipa with String Orchestra, Bright Sheng’s Three Songs for Violoncello and Pipa, Gabriela Lena Frank’s “¡Chayraq!” and Evan Ziporyn’s “Sulvasutra.”
Read More

03/27/2015Wu Man Celebrates 25 Years in the U.S.
Since moving to the United States 25 years ago in 1990, Wu Man has transformed the role of the pipa in the musical world. The Boston Globe has said, “Wu Man is one of the rare musicians who has changed the history of the instrument she plays.” The Economist notes, “In her time in America, Ms. Wu has daringly expanded the pipa’s range, playing jazz, bluegrass and Bollywood with eclectic instrumentalists – and inspiring numerous works from prominent composers.”
Read More

01/29/2015Wu Man performs for Music from Japan at the Asia Society on February 7 and with Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble and the New York Philharmonic led by Alan Gilbert on February 19-21Cleveland Classical
NEW YORK, NY—Grammy Award-nominated pipa player Wu Man, named Musical America’s Instrumentalist of the Year in 2013, joins the foremost ambassadors of music and instrumental traditions from across the world to perform in two major anniversary celebrations, one for Music From Japan and the other with Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble.
Read More

01/27/2015A Rhapsodic Fusion of East and West from the Canton Symphony Orchestra Cleveland Classical
Exiting Umstattd Hall after the January 24 “East Meets West” MasterWorks concert by the Canton Symphony Orchestra (CSO), I briefly noticed wide-eyed wonder on the face of a woman just ahead of me as she looked at her companion. I heard her gush, “Oh, those strings, those glorious strings! I had no idea!” And I thought to myself ah ha… another convert...
Read More

12/25/2014Wu Man's recording 'Our World In Song' nominated for a Grammy® Award in the 'Best World Music Album' CategoryGrammy.com
NEW YORK, NY—Our World in Song: An Odyssey of Musical Treasures, renowned pipa virtuoso Wu Man’s recording featuring arrangements of traditional folk songs from around the world performed with Luis Conte (percussion) and Daniel Ho (ukulele, slack-key guitar), has been nominated for a Grammy® Award in the category of Best World Music Album. The album, released on the label Wind Music, is available from CD Baby and iTunes.Read More

11/01/2014Sheer Joyfulness of Folk Tunes from the Globe World Music Central
So, a Chinese pipa player, a Cuban percussionist and a Hawaiian guitarist go into a studio…sounds like the beginning to a really great joke, but the reality is that three musical powerhouses Wu Man, Luis Conte and Daniel Ho have indeed teamed up to lend their considerable talents to Our World in Song: An Odyssey of Musical Treasures, out on the Wind Music label. Cross pollinating instruments and traditions in a series of musical selections from around the world, Wu Man, Luis Conte and Daniel Ho have traversed genres with such delicious delight that audiences will find the combo hard to resist.
Read More

08/08/2014Review: Wu Man, Sanubar TursunThe Herald Scotland
Four Chinese musicians, under the leadership of Wu Man, probably the world's greatest exponent of the pipa, a small but powerful lute-like instrument, were scheduled to explore the differences and connections between Chinese and Central Asian musical repertoires and culture. In stepped the UK Government, consummately bureaucratic as ever: it really is what they do best. Two visas were denied, and four musicians became two. In two days, Wu Man and Sanubar Tursun, singer and player of a mind-blowing instrument called the Dutar, which looks like a long-necked lute but sounds like a rhythm guitar with fangs, built a fresh programme, God bless 'em...
Read More

01/27/2014Wu Man review: Pipa prodigy educates, enthrallsSan Francisco Chronicle
“If you're in the market for a guided introduction to the pipa, the pear-shaped Chinese lute, you could hardly ask for a more virtuosic or enchanting instructor than Wu Man.”
Read More

08/26/2013Sinovision Interview
Recognized as the world's premier pipa virtuoso and leading ambassador of Chinese music, Grammy Award-nominated musician Wu Man has carved out a career as a composer, soloist, and educator giving her lute-like instrument -- which has a history of two thousand years in China -- a new role in both traditional and contemporary music.
Watch Wu Man's interview

2013Wu Man Announced as 2013 Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America. The first traditional musician ever to receive this prestigious award!
“I feel very honored to receive this award. This country has offered me endless opportunities to express myself and to be creative as a musician, and to share and celebrate my native culture with so many people. I am honored to be recognized by Musical America along with many other excellent musical colleagues.” – December 6, 2012, Musical America Award Ceremony
Watch Wu Man accepts her award

04/27/2011Wu Man: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
Watch the world's reigning pipa virtuoso play ancient music from her Chinese homeland in the NPR Music offices. When her fingers start to fly, Wu Man can create scenes of cinematic grandeur or serene, moonlit moments.Watch NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

11/19/2009Jeffrey Brown profiles Wu Man on PBS Newshour
Whether playing folk music with villagers in China, or performing scores written just for her by top classical composers, musician Wu Man has emerged as one of the world's foremost musical ambassadors. Jeffrey Brown reports.Watch Wu Man’s Music Aims to Bridge East and West